Young Calicoe's preliminary exam in felony dogfighting case extended to April after expert testimony

Detroit rapper Young Calicoe is the target of a Michigan Humane Society investigation into an alleged dog fighting operation in the city's Brightmoor neighborhood. Courtesy photo, hiphoptribune.com

DETROIT, MI - A preliminary exam for Detroit battle rapper Young Calicoe was extended Friday to 2 p.m. April 8 in Wayne County's 36th District Court after a second animal cruelty expert testified in the case.

Calicoe, whose real name is Toranio Hightower, is charged with conspiracy to gamble (5 years maximum - if convicted), animal fighting (4 years) and conspiracy to commit animal fighting (4 years) after a viral video surfaced last summer boasting of illegal activities.

You can watch it at the end of this post and give your thoughts in our comments section.

Harris question in court Friday why his client is being charged with any crime after Wayne County assistant prosecutor Raj Prasad attempted to present documentation about dog breeding that he claims was related to the eight pit bulls seized from the home depicted in the video.

Harris appeared to argue that is client is being treated unfairly in court because he's unjustly tied to the other defendants.

Chokbegboun, according court testimony, is the owner of the home depicted in the video, all eight dogs seized by the Michigan Humane Society and also six chickens also seized. Worthington is believed to be the owner of a rabbit that was also seized.

Dr. Shirene CeCe-Clement also said that four of the dogs had a parasite often contracted by dog-to-dog bites; six chickens seized had various forms of feather loss and a rabbit was found severely underweight.

"Experts have determined it's likely due to inter-dog aggression," said CeCe-Clement of the scars she examined on most of the dogs and a scab found on the nose of one dog.

CeCe-Clement's testimony, however, revealed during a cross-examination by the defense that she didn't know specifically how all the animals seized in the Detroit home depicted in the video received their wounds.

What do you think of the video below? Let us know in our comments section